Auditor: sale of houses might boost jail reserves
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

Efforts to sell two homes on proposed county jail property on U.S. Highway 183 south of Lampasas may allow the county to recoup more than $100,000 of the purchase price of the 12.5-acre land.

County Auditor Jack Clark, who is meeting with real estate agents to obtain estimates on prices the county could ask for each house, said county commissioners asked him to put the item on the Feb. 11 Commissioners Court agenda. At that meeting, commissioners said they needed to determine if septic regulations would require the county to sell both homes on oneacre tracts.

"It's just an exploratory thing right now," Clark said of research into the home values.

The auditor said revenue from any home sales -- as well as from any sale of land behind the Lampasas County Office Building -- should go into reserve funds for new jail construction. County commissioners have said they would like to build a new county jail on the 12.5-acre property.

The county purchased the land south of town for about $525,000, drawing criticism from many citizens who believe the county should have bought a less expensive tract or should build a new jail on property the county already owns.

Clark said he has not obtained exact quotes from real estate agents on the home values, but he guessed one could sell for $65,000 while the other might generate $45,000.

"If you sold them for $100,000, you've gotten 20 percent of your purchase price back on two acres," said Clark.

Commissioners have not yet cast final votes on the matter, so the auditor said he can save the expenses associated with appraisals by talking with real estate agents about the houses.

Clark said he still considers the $41,000 per acre the county paid for the proposed jail land a reasonable figure, and he hopes discussion of selling homes on the property will answer critics' charges of excessive spending.

"I hope they'll respond positively to it," he said of the effort to sell the houses, "because if you can sell off two acres for twice what you paid for it, that's just an indication of the potential value of that land."

Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack B. Cox declined to comment because negotiations are continuing. Precinct 3 Commissioner Lowell Ivey did not return calls seeking comment.